When traveling in an automobile, a number of events and incidents may occur concerning the vehicle and/or its occupants. For example, the vehicle may be involved in an accident in which occupants may incur injuries and thus may require medical assistance. Similarly, in some instances, the vehicle may become inoperable and require a tow truck to relocate it as necessary. Due to the severity of the incident, occupants may have difficulty contacting various forms of roadside assistance.
Vehicle manufacturers have integrated on-board sensors which monitor a number of aspects of the vehicle and/or its occupants. As an example, a sensor such as an accelerometer may monitor gravitational forces, movement, and/or vibrations of the vehicle. Other sensors may be implemented to monitor the occupancy of one or more seats within the vehicle, such as whether a seatbelt has been fastened and/or whether the weight situated atop the seat is sufficient to deploy a safety component such as an airbag or other device associated with the seat in the event a crash occurs.
These sensors are secured to the vehicle and are essentially confined to operate solely with the particular vehicle. As a result, a user is not able to transport a sensor or systems installed in one vehicle into another vehicle such as, for example, a rental vehicle. Additionally, these devices do not allow the sensors to be modified to preform additional functionality (e.g., adapting a “crash” sensor to monitor the presence of barriers and the like). Furthermore, the operation of these systems and devices generally employ unique, proprietary codes and as a result, their use is often dependent upon each vehicle manufacturer. An individual desiring to enhance the safety system or systems of their vehicle may find it difficult, and oftentimes impossible, to integrate additional sensors which are not compatible with their particular vehicle's manufacturer due to this proprietary language.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.